Escape
by CharChen
Summary: His only escape from his old self was to see a different self in the mirror of a woman's eyes.With her music,she could escape the parts of life she didn't like,embroider the parts she did & control the life she had.Until their realities came crashing down
1. Chapter 1

**Escape**

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Hinata stood on the sidewalk and stared up at the restaurant. Everything seemed to harass all five senses at once. The yummy aromas wafting on to the street, the hot summer sun melting away the molecules of her existence, only to be cooled and solidified again by the breeze on her skin, the vibrant, cheery colours of everything around her… and the sounds…. Hinata curled her toes in slight ecstasy… those tickled her the most.

"You can't stop me, papa!"

Hinata watched curiously at the father/daughter duo a few feet away from her.

"You're throwing your life away!"

A small smile spread across her face. This was it. The unpolluted air, the culture, the sights, scents and sounds… All of this was it.

This was what she came here for.

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**A/N: I know it's short and I know I have another fic to finish but I couldn't help myself. I just had to get my idea out there!**

**So sit tight! Chapter 2 will come shortly... I hope.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey all. New readers and those from BtR. I've finally uploaded! Enjoy :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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Naruto sat at his table alone, idly pushing his ramen around. He wasn't sure why he came here year after year. Honouring their annual tradition wasn't going to change a thing, especially when she had abandoned it 5 years ago. Still, keeping it alive seemed like the right thing to do.

Waiters passed him by without taking much notice of his idling, for which he was grateful but to be known by staff to do the same useless thing on one particular date annually was pretty pathetic, he supposed. Not that it mattered. His patronage was what went into half their paycheck anyways.

Naruto briefly glanced up from his food as something caught his eye. He felt his breath lodge itself somewhere in his throat. It couldn't be her. Surely she wouldn't return to this place after 5 years. Would she?

Her presence her meant she'd read the letters he sent her every year and she'd felt the same way. Why else would she be here?

His heart pounded in his chest, loud as a bass drum. She was returning to him. She was returning to them.

She was someone else.

Naruto slumped in his seat. He was so pathetic. It had been 5 years and she hadn't replied to none of his letters. She wasn't returning to him and he was a fool to think otherwise.

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Hinata anxiously waited for the waiter to return. This wasn't the big break she was looking for but the nightly gig at the bar and restaurant would be enough to pay the bills. As she stood waiting, she felt as though someone was watching her. She turned to find cerulean eyes staring intensely at her… more into her, with a rapt attention as they perused her entire frame. Not perversely but rather with a hopeful sorrow. She could feel his raw emotion, almost taste it through her skin. He was waiting for someone. Someone he thought was her. Someone he knew, and somehow she did too, was never going to come.

The maitre de returned and Hinata, though grateful for his presence, found herself a bit reluctant to break the eye contact she held with her stranger. As she walked towards the back, she stole one more glance at the blue eyed stranger who was still staring, and she wondered who has broken that poor stranger's heart.

After her set, Hinata wandered down to the town's boardwalk to sit alone. Her thoughts kept running back to that man. Even hours after his departure, she could still feel his gaze lingering on her skin. She remembered vividly the longing and sorrow that had been settled in those deep blue pools. He was staring at her but seeing someone else. And for some strange reason, Hinata felt compelled to become that person. Just for him. Just for a little while. So she played that song and sang for him.

Hinata picked up her guitar and strummed a couple chords then quietly began to play the same Gavin DeGraw song she'd performed for him.

'_Dreams, that's where I have to go__  
><em>_To see your beautiful face anymore__  
><em>_I stare at a picture of you and listen to the radio__  
><em>_Hope, hope there's a conversation__  
><em>_Where we both admit we had it good but__  
><em>_Until then it's alienation, I know, that much is understood__  
><em>_And I realize'_

She ran through the many emotions that played so clearly across his features. So raw. So open.

'_If you ask me how I'm doing I would say I'm doing just fine__  
><em>_I would lie and say that you're not on my mind__  
><em>_But I go out and I sit down at a table set for two__  
><em>_And finally I'm forced to face the truth__  
><em>_No matter what they say, I'm not over you__  
><em>_Not over you__'Damn, damn girl you do it well__  
><em>_And I thought you were innocent__  
><em>_You took this heart and put it through hell__  
><em>_But still you're magnificent__  
><em>_I'm a boomerang. Doesn't matter how you throw me__  
><em>_Turn around and I'm back in the game__  
><em>_Even better than the old me__  
><em>_But I'm not even close without you'_

Hinata stopped. It was at this point in the song where her stranger had left. She wondered why he'd left. And what was so compelling about his blue eyes and blonde hair?

"Don't stop."

Hinata jumped at the voice. She turned around to find him standing there; head hung low, eyes hidden from sight, disheveled suit and a bottle in his hand. Rather clumsily, he took a seat next to her.

"I… wasn't able to hear the rest of the song." His words were slurred and each breath reeked of whiskey. "Will you play it again?"

Hinata started the song once more and didn't stop until she had completed each song in her repertoire that night. She stayed put for a while, guitar still in hand, watching the white foam on the water as the waves broke gently. For a moment, she wished she were back at home. She had made the right decision, right?

It was getting late and she had to get moving. There was nothing she dreaded more than having to ride public transport at night. Well, she dreaded ending up alone and people staring more but public transport at night was up there on that list. It was always crowded, reeking of foul odors and strange people. She packed her guitar and stood to leave but turned around when she heard a small thud. A small yelp escaped her lips upon seeing her stranger lying down on the ground. Had he been out cold the whole time?

"Ano…" Hinata shook him. How could he have passed out right there on a bench on the boardwalk? She had to get home but she couldn't leave him there. He was sure to get robbed or worse. Hinata sighed and kicked herself for not being able to able to walk away. Her big heart was sure to land her in trouble some day.

She set her things down and put all her efforts into pulling her stranger back on to the bench. After he was somewhat between sitting and slouching on the bench, she searched his pockets looking for something that contained an address she could send him to on a taxi but came up empty. His wallet contained business cards, a credit card and his ID.

_'So much for sending him home.'_ she thought. _'Maybe his phone would have a number I could call.'_

Hinata searched him again; all the while conscious of the looks she received from passersby. Much to her dismay, his phone was password locked. She shot him a dirty look and cursed him silently with every bit of class she had.

_'WHY are you making it so hard to help you!'_

There was only one thing she could think to do. She didn't know anything pass his name and yet she was going to let a drunk , passed out stray stay the night. She had to be losing it. Using her phone, she called a cab to take them home.

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Hinata sat in the dark in her small kitchen at her even smaller table, clad only in a vest and boxer shirts. What was she doing bringing a stranger into her apartment? And a drunk one at that! She let out a sigh and dropped her head on the table with a dull thud. No one in their right mind brought random people home. Only drunk people brought drunk people home to shag at night and she wasn't drunk nor needed to shag. She was forever caring. It was her ultimate downfall. Yet, as she sat in the pitch black, she couldn't stop thinking about him.

Uzumaki Naruto, 166cm, Libra, blood type B. That's what his ID had said. There was no business card to indicate what he did for a living but she could tell he was wealthy, judging by his designer clothes and platinum card. So what was he doing drunk on the boardwalk? Normal wealthy folk didn't visit barely middle class bar and restaurants or end up drunk on a boardwalk.

_'But then again…'_ she thought to herself. Nothing about him was normal. He was stunning. So painfully beautiful and stunning…

Frustrated with her thoughts, Hinata got up and took the two short steps to her fridge. She took a swig of milk from the carton only to find herself wondering how his lips would feel against hers. She imagined them to be soft. Yes, they looked so delicate and probably didn't taste like they were about to expire. Hinata recapped the carton and threw it in the trash. She made a mental note to run to the store for another carton in the morning if she could afford it but as of right now, it was late and she needed to sleep.

Hinata turned around and found herself face to face with her stranger. She could hardly breathe. Even in the dark he was breath taking. If only her mind could form a train of coherent thoughts to say.

"I didn't…. I mean I thought…" she fumbled but he just stood there, eyes fixed on her, drinking in every detail.

No, it wasn't just his looks that had her struggling to breathe. It was his closeness and her having nowhere to go, being stuck between him and the fridge. He was close enough to feel his breath whisper across her skin. Close enough for her nipples to rake lightly against his bare chest with each of her shallow breaths. Too close for comfort…

Neither of them moved. He just stood there, looking at her, all soft blue eyes and full lips. Didn't apologize for passing out and being so troublesome; didn't say anything. Instead, he kissed her, his hand brushing her cheek before his fingers curled around her face and wove themselves lightly into her hair. She most definitely wasn't drunk but standing here in her tiny kitchen, allowing some random stranger to touch her like this made her wonder if she really did need to shag.

All too soon, it was over. She looked at him expectantly. The absence of his lips on hers was palatable and she needed more but the desire that stirred within her wasn't mirrored in his face. Just a heartbreaking sorrow lingered there.

"I can't…" He whispered. "Sleep alone. I just…"

Wordlessly, Hinata took his hand and led him back to bed. Her beautiful stranger… Poor beautiful broken stranger.

"You look like her" he whispered once they were settled in the bed.

Hinata hugged her pillow tighter. Of course he wasn't into her. He was into her look alike. She was so stupid to think otherwise.

Her stranger rolled over and pulled her against his body. "Arigatou."

And he was fast asleep. Hinata on the other hand was wide awake and acutely aware of the feel of his chest against her back and the way his warm breath felt against her neck. She replayed the kitchen episode from every angle she could possibly think of. It was… nice how his lips were cool and soft in contrast to his warm, hard body. She liked that. But he would never see her. The one who held his heart would always be there. Not like it would matter after tonight. Once morning rolled around, he'd be gone and it would be like none of this never happened. But it would be nice to have midnight kisses and fall asleep like this every night, wouldn't it?

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Hinata looked into the eyes that mirrored her own. As they twirled aimlessly around, a soft lullaby on strings carried on the wind. It had been her mother's favourite. The same one she'd sing Hanabi and her softly to sleep with.

"Oka-san" Hinata whispered.

"You've grown well." The almost exact replica of Hinata smiled down at her.

"Hai. I've missed you."

"How is your sister?"

"Hanabi's soon graduating."

"And your father?"

"Otou-san is well. He – "

Without warning, there was a loud, abrasive interruption. Hinata whipped her head around to search for its source and found nothing but the vast expanse of the flowery meadow with its clear blue skies. The sound, like a badly played tuba came again, followed by an incessant beating of a bass drum. This wasn't how the lullaby went. Face upturned, she looked back at her mother who was already drifting away.

"It is time I go."

"Wait!" Hinata desperately grabbed for her mother's hand and missed. "We haven't talked yet!"

Her mother looked to the skies as the drum got louder, more frantic with its beats then back to her daughter.

"I'm so proud of you, Hinata."

Hinata opened her eyes with a start. It took her a few seconds to bring her mind from the dream conversation her subconscious conjured and back to reality, where she was now perched precariously on the edge of the bed, while her stranger had some time during the night, taken the liberty to sprawl himself across the expanse of her tiny bed. She was lucky he hadn't completely forced her off the bed. Once she had carefully gotten off the bed, she noticed the constant pounding on her door that she had interpreted as a drum in her dream.

Hinata checked the clock hanging from the wall as she padded through the apartment somewhat sluggishly to her door. 6:32am.

"Hai?" She muttered. It was the best attempt at manners she could muster with sleep's lingering fog still hanging over her mind.

Without waiting for an invitation, the tall raven haired man barged into her apartment. His obsidian eyes quickly perused the small place before he gaze settled on her with unhidden and unabashed distaste.

"I'm just here to collect someone." He said matter of factly. Hinata stared up at him in disbelief. Did he just…?

Tired of waiting for her reply, he stalked off into her bedroom and found Naruto laying half naked and sprawled across the bed. He slapped the blonde upside the head, jolting him awake.

Naruto squinted up at the raven. "Sasuke?"

"Who else, dobe."

Naruto got up and the room spun. What time was it anyways? He had a headache out of this world. How much did he drink? And this wasn't his hotel room. Where was he?

"Where am I?" he asked as he grabbed his clothes.

"Like hell if I know." There was no mistaking the disdain in his voice.

Hinata stood in the doorway and watched the exchange between the two. How dare he look down on her tiny apartment! He was the one who'd barged in uninvited in the first place! Hinata spoke up.

"You're in my apartment."

Both men looked over and realization dawned on Naruto's face.

"Ah," he pointed at her. "You're guitar girl!"

Hinata blushed. He did remember her… somewhat.

"You… passed out on the boardwalk so I brought you back here… But w-we didn't do anything!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave her an apologetic grin. "Ah… Seems like I was a bother. Gomen."

Hinata felt her cheeks turn flaming hot. He was smiling at her! And he was even more gorgeous that the sulking man she'd met last night.

"No! N-N-Not at all…"

Sasuke was annoyed at the interaction. He didn't have time to waste.

"I could m-make you c-coffee –"

Sasuke interjected impatiently. "It's time to go, Naruto. I've already wasted time coming all the way here to get you. Say your goodbyes."

Sasuke brushed by Hinata on his way out of the bedroom. It was disgusting the way Naruto stood grinning while she twiddled her thumbs and stuttered like an idiot. Why was he continually picking that dobe off his ass every single year on the day after the ex-anniversary of him and his ex fiancé?

Naruto apologized again. "Gomen. He's not really a morning person."

"Ah…"

"I better get going before he drags me out by my ear or something."

"Hai…" Hinata stepped aside to let him pass and tried not to be disappointed. She was hoping he'd at least stay for breakfast.

"Arigatou…"

"Hinata."

"Arigatou Hinata-chan."

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**AND Here you have it folks! Rather short and it's now starting out but I hope you guys enjoyed. R & R!**

**The song Hinata sings is 'Not Over You' by Gavin DeGraw. All props go to him for the awesome lyrics!**


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